Switchboard, from NRDC › Lucian Go's Blogtag:switchboard.nrdc.org,2014:/blogs/lgo//3822013-10-08T23:40:36ZMovable Type Pro 6.0.5Millennials, Mobility, and Multi-Modality tag:switchboard.nrdc.org,2013:/blogs/lgo//382.155272013-10-01T22:17:16Z2013-10-08T23:40:36ZLucian Go
<p>Lucian Go, NRDC alum, San Francisco</p>
<p>It no longer takes a transportation planner to see the shift occurring in the travel habits of the millennial generation, which is the largest and most diverse in American history. We&rsquo;re driving less, walking and biking more, and gravi<a href="http://www.uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/A%20New%20Direction%20vUS.pdf"><img src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/38/91396256_5bd88967db.jpg" width="400" height="266" align="right" /></a>tating towards more vibrant and compact communities that facilitate car-free lifestyles. In doing so, millennials are helping push American transportation preferences in <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/A%20New%20Direction%20vUS.pdf">a new direction.</a></p>
<p>Two new reports released today by APTA and U.S. PIRG dig deeper into this trend.&nbsp; APTA&rsquo;s report, entitled <em><a href="http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTA-Millennials-and-Mobility.pdf">Millennials &amp; Mobility: Understan</a></em><em><a href="http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTA-Millennials-and-Mobility.pdf">ding the Millennial Mindset</a></em>, found through polling that millennials are increasingly multi-modal, with 69% of respondents using multiple transportation options to reach a destination a few times a week or more. The report found that on average, three different transportation options are used on a typical trip (this includes walking), mainly due to the lower cost and convenience of traveling this way.</p>
<p>In essence, this polling demonstrates the potential behind the <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgo/bikesharing_the_people_have_sp.html">mobility hubs</a> and <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgo/dynamic_ridesharing_turning_em.html">technology-enabled transportation services</a> that I&rsquo;ve blogged about previously. Millennials aren&rsquo;t wedded to using a single mode to get where they&rsquo;re going, and the polling shows that they would like to see real-time updates, a more-user friendly experience, and amenities like Wi-Fi to allow them to travel the way a lot of them probably live: spontaneously.</p>
<p>What can cities and planning agencies do to further this trend away from car dependence and the pollution and congestion associated with it? As U.S. PIRG&rsquo;s new report <em><a href="http://www.uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/A%20New%20Way%20to%20Go%20vUS1_1.pdf">A New Way to Go</a></em> highlights, quite a lot.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The report recognizes that outdated, mode-specific &ldquo;silos&rdquo; within transportation agencies can present barriers to technology-enabled transportation services. By modernizing regulations to embrace multi-modality, transportation planners can help to spread more and better transportation choices to Americans, whether they live in cities or suburbs.</p>
<p>For more details, see the full <a href="http://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/APTA-Millennials-and-Mobility.pdf">APTA</a> and <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/A%20New%20Way%20to%20Go%20vUS1_1.pdf">U.S. PIRG</a> reports.</p>
<p><em>Photo: Diego Torres Silvestre, Flickr</em></p>
<img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/switchboard_lgo/~4/lBkScbxFz0U" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgo/millennials_mobility_and_multi.htmlBikesharing: The People Have "Spoke"-n tag:switchboard.nrdc.org,2013:/blogs/lgo//382.153922013-09-11T21:35:47Z2013-09-12T01:22:11ZLucian Go
<p>Lucian Go, NRDC alum, San Francisco</p>
<p>With the recent launch of a <a href="http://bayareabikeshare.com/">bikesharing program</a> for the San Francisco Bay Area, it&rsquo;s no secret that the popularity of shared bikes is on the up and up in major U.S. cities. Bay Area BikeShare brings the country&rsquo;s fleet to well over 18,000 shared bikes (and 1.2 million bicycle spokes, by my calculation). This number, believe it or not, has doubled since the beginning of this year, according to a <a href="http://grist.org/cities/195888/">recent article in Grist.</a> Success is evident in places like NYC, where each of the program's 6,000 Citi Bikes might be checked out 7 times or more on a busy day.</p>
<p>The Grist article points out that while the U.S. bikesharing fleet is expected to double again by the end of 2014, American bikeshare programs are still mostly tiny compared to the world&rsquo;s largest fleets, such as Paris&rsquo;s 20,000-plus bike <a href="http://en.velib.paris.fr/">V&eacute;lib' program</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6793292061_a2732661b8.jpg" width="366" height="275" align="right" /></p>
<p>Clearly, there is a sea of opportunity for bikesharing in U.S. cities where programs do not exist, are in the works, or will be expanded in the future. An example of huge untapped potential lies in Los Angeles, which happens to be the country&rsquo;s second-most populous city/metro area and a region that committed a projected $40 billion to transportation upgrades in 2008 through <a href="http://www.metro.net/projects/measurer/">Measure R</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) has a plan in the works <a href="http://www.ttrcc.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=SlngDOvYTC4%3D&amp;tabid=110">to build a series of mobility hubs</a> at key transit nodes, aimed at solving the &ldquo;first mile, last mile&rdquo; problem that prevents many people from using transit due to an inability to get to or from a station. Mobility hubs are aimed at alleviating this problem by providing a host of options at a transit station, including secure bike parking, bikesharing and carsharing.</p>
<p>User experience is key to the notion of a mobility hub, which needs be a seamless and convenient option in order to compel drivers to ditch their cars in favor of transit. In a day and age where <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2013/06/06/more-than-half-of-us-have-smartphones-giving-apple-and-google-much-to-smile-about/">more than half</a> of American adults own smartphones (that&rsquo;s a 15% increase in just two years), this means that a rider should easily be able to reserve a bike or car share en route, while looking at real-time bus and train arrivals on their phone, all in one integrated app.</p>
<p>In places like Denmark, where <a href="http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/2013/08/sneak-peak-at-copenhagens-cykel-dk.html">Cykel DK</a> bikes will come equipped with an Android tablet with built-in GPS, ticketing, and arrival information, bikesharing is already being taken to a whole new level (check out the video below for more details on these awesome bikes).</p>
<p>
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<p>As the U.S. starts to ride the bikesharing wave, cities like Los Angeles need to be sure to take a cue from the Danes and tap into existing technology, not only to be the best possible alternative to driving, but to provide a platform that can be used to link riders up with mobility hubs, which represent much larger-scale opportunities for reducing pollution and congestion by integrating alternative transportation options.</p>
<p><em>Photo Credit: Mr. T in DC, Flickr</em></p>
<img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/switchboard_lgo/~4/Bw2Tq_Uh7Qw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgo/bikesharing_the_people_have_sp.htmlCrowdfixing: Improving Transit with Social Mediatag:switchboard.nrdc.org,2013:/blogs/lgo//382.140792013-01-30T18:13:05Z2013-01-30T19:14:34ZLucian Go
<p>Lucian Go, NRDC alum, San Francisco</p>
<p>The internet is an integral part of mobility these days, regardless of the method one uses to travel: it can tell you what time your bus or train arrives, and where the nearest stop is. It can find you a ride from San Francisco to L.A. or Portland, or if you&rsquo;re driving, find someone who can help pay for gas. And as I <a href="http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgo/dynamic_ridesharing_turning_em.html">blogged about</a> last month, it can even connect you with a nearby driver in real-time when you need to get across town. But can the web go beyond just making transportation easier for us, and actually improve the <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your_commute_is_killing_you.html">migraine-inducing daily commute</a>?</p>
<p><img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6158/6243008944_091307a06f_z.jpg" alt="Stockholmsubway" width="530" height="390" align="middle" /></p>
<p><em>Station art in Stockholm, Sweden. Photo: Tobias Lindman, Flickr.</em></p>
<p>The idea of a social, web-based platform that can help get our infrastructure fixed is not brand new. <a href="http://seeclickfix.com/">SeeClickFix</a>, which launched in Connecticut in 2008, is a web tool that allows citizens to report neighborhood issues (e.g. graffiti, potholes, litter) and bring them to the attention of local officials, the community, and local media. By sidestepping local bureaucracies and creating accountability, the website has gotten over 125,000 issues fixed across the country. A <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444165804578008511493789642.html?mod=ITP_review_0">Wall Street Journal article</a> recently highlighted the power of peer networks like SeeClickFix as a fluid tool for progress.</p>
<p>This &ldquo;crowdfixing&rdquo; concept has also been applied specifically to transit, most notably in cities across Europe. <a href="http://www.fixmytransport.com/">FixMyTransport</a> is a UK-based website that uses a similar platform to SeeClickFix, letting residents voice their concerns about underperforming routes and unpleasant stations in British cities. The website&rsquo;s platform uses critical mass to turn time-consuming transit nitpicking into effective lobbying. Collaborative approaches to improving infrastructure have also gained steam in <a href="http://www.verbeterdebuurt.nl/">Amsterdam</a> and <a href="http://www.meineradspur.at/">Vienna</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the U.S., &nbsp;where vehicle miles travelled (VMT) is <a href="http://www.ssti.us/2012/10/have-we-reached-peak-car-as-well-as-peak-vmt/">steadily declining while transit usage grows</a>, cities should be taking note of the fact that convenient transportation options are becoming a major consideration for prospective residents &ndash;<a href="http://www.frontiergroup.org/reports/fg/transportation-and-new-generation">particularly younger ones</a>. Thus, investing in keeping public transit reliable and reputable is an economic development strategy that cities can&rsquo;t afford to ignore.</p>
<img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/switchboard_lgo/~4/ZG2tpKohKUc" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgo/crowdfixing_improving_transit.htmlDynamic Ridesharing: Turning Empty Seats Into Affordable Transportationtag:switchboard.nrdc.org,2012:/blogs/lgo//382.138882012-12-21T19:36:24Z2012-12-21T20:11:56ZLucian Go
<p>Lucian Go, NRDC alum, San Francisco</p>
<p>With much of New York City&rsquo;s public transit system crippled by flooding and debris due to Superstorm Sandy this past October, Mayor Bloomberg <a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/10/31/bloomberg-announces-carpool-rule-for-manhattan-bound-drivers/">mandated</a> high-occupancy vehicle (HOV 3) lanes on most bridges and tunnels going into Manhattan, recognizing that operational buses and single-occupancy vehicles would be insufficient to transport some 500,000 commuters to work. For two days, many people left their cars at home and began to line up at entrances to bridges and tunnels to catch rides into Manhattan. Essentially, New York City put an emergency ridesharing program in place to cope with the loss of public transit.</p>
<p>New York City&rsquo;s emergency HOV 3 mandate brings up an interesting question: will it take nothing short of a natural disaster to jumpstart ridesharing programs and harness the wasted mobility inherent in solo commuting, which the U.S. Census estimates to be around <a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acs-15.pdf">76 percent</a> of automobile commuters? If recent studies are any indication, the answer might be no. Recent trends in transportation and technology use point to ridesharing (particularly dynamic ridesharing programs that match users in real time) as a transportation alternative with significant potential for widespread growth and environmental benefits. The popularity of these programs has garnered the state&rsquo;s attention, with the California Public Utilities Commission&lsquo;s (CPUC) decision yesterday to become the first regulatory body in the country to formally <a href="http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M039/K594/39594708.PDF">evaluate</a> these services.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/126238642/" title="Grand Street: Texting by moriza, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/46/126238642_3374dcfaaf.jpg" alt="Grand Street: Texting" width="500" height="500" /></a></p>
<p>The first major trend that may help these programs gain traction is that <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/19/fewer-americans-commuting-solo/57809648/1">fewer Americans</a>&nbsp;are commuting alone&mdash;a trend that seems to coincide with an overall decrease in vehicle miles travelled (VMT). In 2009, for the first time in the forty years that the National Household Travel Survey began collecting travel data, VMT had <a href="http://dc.streetsblog.org/2012/11/13/as-baby-boomers-age-they-take-their-foot-off-the-gas/">declined</a> among all age groups. <a href="http://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/public_policy_institute/liv_com/2012/impact-baby-boomers-travel-1969-2009-AARP-ppi-liv-com.pdf">Baby Boomers</a>, the generation that has largely been intertwined with the rise of the automobile, are now reaching the age where retirement and empty nests spell less driving.</p>
<p>The age group whose driving has declined the most is the same one that is most likely to adopt technology-based alternatives like dynamic ridesharing: my generation, the &ldquo;Millennials&rdquo;, generally defined as being between the ages of 16 and 34. This age group&rsquo;s average annual VMT dropped by 23 percent between 2001 and 2009, according to an <a href="http://www.frontiergroup.org/reports/fg/transportation-and-new-generation">April study</a> by the Frontier Group. The study shows that this shift away from driving isn&rsquo;t confined to cash-strapped twenty-somethings; even Millennial households making over $70,000 a year have doubled their use of transit while increasing bike trips by 122 percent. A <a href="http://ir.zipcar.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=553203">Zipcar/KRC study</a> found that nearly half of Millennials say they drive less to protect the environment--more than any other age group.</p>
<p>This generation&rsquo;s changing preferences on a <a href="http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/04/why-young-americans-are-driving-so-much-less-their-parents/1712/">wide range of issues</a> beyond driving indicate that they are increasingly driving less not because they can&rsquo;t, but because they don&rsquo;t want to. And it isn&rsquo;t just confined to driving; it may come as a shock to some that <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/a-teenage-question-a-car-or-a-smartphone/">nearly half of young people</a> ages 18 to 24 would choose access to the internet over access to a car, according a study cited in the New York Times last year. By comparison, only 15% of Baby Boomers would choose the internet. In a generation where social networking is the norm and where phone calls and face-to-face conversations are largely reserved for relatives and significant others (at least among the most avid texters), not having internet access might not feel much different than being under house arrest.</p>
<p>One analyst called the iPhone the &ldquo;Ford Mustang of today&rdquo;- the new American symbol of independence and adulthood. The article suggests that while a car provides physical mobility, it doesn&rsquo;t provide the kind of connectedness that it used to, while the&nbsp;responsibilities of car ownership are becoming too big a burden for a generation of people that are <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21563280">moving around more and settling down later</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>As a result, the innovative ridesharing programs that are emerging may fit the&nbsp;needs of many people&nbsp;better than personal car ownership does. <a href="http://www.zimride.com/">Zimride</a> is a San-Francisco-based ridesharing service built around university and corporate networks, and its UC Santa&nbsp;Cruz community is a good example of the potency of this service. In three and a half years, it has grown to over 7,000&nbsp;registered members&mdash;nearly forty percent of the university&rsquo;s combined student and faculty population- saving an estimated 820,000 miles of driving, according to the company. &nbsp;In May, Zimride&rsquo;s founders launched <a href="http://lyft.me/">Lyft</a>, a donation-based dynamic ridesharing service that matches riders and drivers in real time, with safety measures including background checks, insurance, user reviews, and social media connectivity. Drivers are identifiable through the distinctive <a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/09/my-life-as-a-high-tech-part-time-not-quite-taxi-driver/">fuzzy pink mustaches</a>&nbsp;they mount on the fronts of their cars. As a cheap and convenient alternative, Lyft has become a hit in the Bay Area, with 80% of users becoming <a href="http://business.time.com/2012/09/04/need-a-lyft-ride-sharing-startup-zimride-hits-the-gas-pedal/">repeat customers</a>. Zimride&nbsp;and Lyft are not alone, as numerous services are operating at local, regional and even international levels; <a href="http://www.side.cr/faq">Sidecar</a> is expanding its presence on the West Coast, having recently raised $10 million in funding, and <a href="http://www.avego.com/">Avego</a> has pilots operating around the world and has offices in the U.S., Ireland, and China.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizasperling/7640786628/" title="Hey @lyft, looking good @hollymac @dogkiwi. by lizasperling, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7131/7640786628_ba55fda421.jpg" alt="Hey @lyft, looking good @hollymac @dogkiwi." width="500" height="500" /></a></p>
<p>The good news is that dynamic ridesharing programs demonstrate significant potential for environmental benefits when utilized by drivers and riders with a shared destination, primarily through reduction of VMT, traffic congestion, and associated emissions. They can also help lighten the demand on public infrastructure, including roadways and parking. As a demand-based platform, dynamic ridesharing is highly scalable and can easily expand as these companies pick up steam. And, in contrast to costly transportation infrastructure projects, they are immediately available at little or no cost to the state. &nbsp;With an estimated 80% of the car seats on the road being empty, finding other people with the same destination to fill them is a no-brainer. The flipside of this coin, however, is that dynamic ridesharing can also facilitate new car trips, where drivers wait for ride requests and go out of their way to get them to their destinations. Although these cars would probably not be prowling the streets like cabs, it seems intuitive that by creating new trips these programs would negate many of the environmental benefits. Since most of these companies are relatively new, there is still little data out there accurately quantifying the VMT reductions in either case.</p>
<p>These startups now find themselves at the forefront of the dynamic ridesharing movement, with yesterday&rsquo;s decision by the CPUC recognizing that they cannot be regulated through the same lens as charter-party carrier services like taxi and limo companies. In light of the potential environmental benefits, this is a big step in the right direction for the CPUC, as an open rulemaking will best address the novel issues and questions presented by these innovative services. The CPUC has played a prominent role in California&rsquo;s long history of tackling precedent-setting issues, and this rulemaking is no exception, as it will establish the nation&rsquo;s first regulatory framework governing a new transportation solution that is beginning to emerge across the country.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>Photos: (top) texting in traffic, by Mo Riza on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/moriza/126238642/">Flickr</a>; (bottom) Lyft mustache by lizasperling, on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38987905@N08/7640786628/">Flickr</a>.</em></p>
<img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/switchboard_lgo/~4/dkR9WAC1wus" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/lgo/dynamic_ridesharing_turning_em.html